Night vision devices are commonly used by military personnel for conducting operations in low light or night conditions. The night vision devices utilized by the military typically include image intensifier tubes and associated optics that convert infrared and near infrared light into viewable images. A common night vision device currently being used in the U.S. Army is the PVS7 night vision device, manufactured by ITT Corporation in Roanoke, Va.
Assemblies for mounting night vision devices to a helmet are well known in the art. These mounting assemblies allow a user's hands to remain free while viewing a scene through the night vision device. Prior art mounting assemblies typically include one or more of the following features: positional adjustment of the night vision device between a use and stowed position; tilt angle adjustment of the night vision device relative to the user's eyes; focal adjustment of the location of the night vision device relative to the user's eyes; and automatic shutdown of the night vision device when not in the use position.
A known mounting assembly for night vision devices encompasses a flip-up helmet mount that attempts to provide all of the features identified above. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,914,816 to Soto et at., 6,457,179 to Prendergast and 6,472,776 to Soto et al. which are incorporated herein by reference. However, when the previously disclosed mounting assemblies are flipped up, the night vision device rests a few inches away from the front edge of the helmet. This places the center of gravity of the night vision device/helmet mount assembly further forward than simply the helmet alone and may place an undue strain on the user's neck. It is desirable to have a night vision mounting assembly that accomplishes the features identified above, yet places less strain on the user's neck.
Known flip-up helmet mounts also require the presence of an automatic shutdown assembly. This feature is desired because a phosphor yellow/green light emitted from the night vision device would be visible to possibly hostile personnel in front of the operator if the device was not turned off when stowed. However, should the automatic shutdown assembly fail to operate for any reason, the user may be placed in a potentially dangerous situation.
These and other problems could exist with the flip-up helmet mounts for night vision devices disclosed in the prior art. Consequently, a need exists for a different approach to a helmet mount.